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Convert Records Button

Converting Records

Creating a button in order to convert records to post some data values in an entry to be saved in another sheet can be done with this custom action button.

Your users will be able to click an action button in your source sheet to create a copy of your data (which can be all of your fields, or a selection of your field values) to be saved in this other sheet.

This linking type is different from having multiple versions of the same sheet as when you convert a record, the data values will be essentially copied and saved in a new entry in another sheet, and will not be using the same data pool. Therefore, it is possible to overwrite the data in the converted record without having it being changed in the source.

Creating a Link to convert records from one sheet to another

To create an action that will enable users to convert an entry from a source sheet to another sheet that the data will be saved into, click on the Convert Records option under the Sheet Linking Options button in the Design Mode of your source sheets' form page.

In our example below, we will be creating a sales order sheet that will use values from a quote sent to a customer.

The Quotes sheet already has some values for the customer to decide if they would like to place a sales order or not. At this stage, we do not have a link with the Sales Orders sheet.

The Sales Orders sheet is very similar to the structure of the Quotes. Having a similar design or sharing many fields is not a necessity for converting records, but it's helpful to be consistent with your design.

Navigate to the Design Mode of your sheet that will contain the source values. In our example, this is the Quotes sheet, as we'll be creating a sales order according to the values we quoted to the customer.

Click Form Tools to see a list of custom action button types you can add to your form. Click Convert Records.

This will display a dropdown with a list of sheets in your account. Select the sheet where you'll save values from the source. For our example, this is the Sales Orders sheet.

In this step, you'll be asked to map fields to each other. The section Use value from this field will show you fields from the source sheet, while the Fill in this field section will display fields that are in the destination sheet. Select the fields that you'd like to save during the conversion, this can be all the fields on your sheet, or only some of the fields on your sheet depending on your specific requirements. You can also click "Auto mapping fields" to map fields that have the same name on both sheets.

Make sure that you have mapped all fields correctly. Depending on your sheet design, the field names can be the same, or entirely different. It's always helpful to have clear field names in order to have clear communication with different database designers and other users in your account. Once your done with the fields you'd like to map, click Create convert record button.

Ragic will prompt you to enter a name for the action button that your users will see. Make sure that the action name you are writing will be clear to other users.

After confirming the above, Ragic will have added your record conversion as an action button, which will be accessible from the Actions menu under your Form Settings. Make sure that you save your form design for your new action button to take effect.

Using the Action Button to Convert Records

Once you have completed all the steps to create a convert record link, you'll be able to see your new action button on the lower-right corner of your saved records in your source sheet. When a user clicks this button, this will create a new record in your destination sheet.

In our example, after clicking the Create Sales Order from Quote action button, the values from our quote record will be saved as a new record in our sales orders sheet. This way, we're able to see the Quote ID of the original quote that was sent to the customer, and all other related field values from our quote such as the product line items are being copied as well.

Each time the action button is clicked, a separate new record will be saved in the destination sheet. In this example, this means that we can generate different sales orders from the same quote.

To prevent users convert an entries more than once, you can refer to this article.

You can make revisions to your destination sheet to have more fields according to your specific requirements. In our case, this could be adding the tax percentage and amount, and a discount percentage that is applied before the sales order is finalized.

Converting records from a subtable

While you can convert a main form entry from one sheet to a main form entry in another sheet, you can also convert subtable entries from one sheet to become part of another sheet's main entries.

In the example "from a Quote to a Sales Order" we used above, we've been able to convert subtable entries from one sheet to another sheet's subtable entries. When we click "Create Sales Order from Quote" button, the data value of subtable fields like Product SKU and Product Name in the Quote sheet are copied to the subtable fields in the Sales Order sheet, and every time we click this button, there will be a record saved in the Sales Order sheet.

To convert subtable entries from one sheet to another sheet's main form entries would be a little different. If there are N entries in the subtable, every time you click the convert button, there would be N records added in the corresponding sheet.

In our example below, we will be creating a Quote Records sheet that will use subtable values from a Quote sheet.

The Quotes sheet already has fields including Quote ID, Contact Name, Address, Phone Number in the main form, and subtable fields including Product SKU, Product Name, Unit Price, Oty, Subtotal.

The Quote Records sheet has fields including Product SKU, Product Name, Unit Price, Oty, Subtotal.

Clicking on the Convert Records option under the Sheet Linking Options button in the Design Mode from the Quote sheet's form page, we select to convert to the Quote Records sheet, and map the subtable fields of the Quote sheet to the fields of the Quote Records sheet, to create a convert record button.

After saving our setting, when we click this "Create Quote Records from Quotes" button, 2 records will be converted to the Quote Records sheet since this subtable contains 2 sub-entries.

Advanced Setting: Apply Subtable Filtering Criteria

If the record you are converting includes subtable fields, you can apply a filter to only convert subtable entries matching the designated condition.

For example, if you would like to convert a sales order to one delivery note, yet not all the products on the sales order would need shipping, you can add an additional field to state whether the product would need shipping.

And in the advanced settings of its convert records button, you can select to apply a subtable filter criteria, such as to convert subtable records when selected “Yes” for shipping.

After the setting is completed, you will only convert subtable records that match the filter condition.

Advanced Setting: Apply Subtable Grouping Criteria

If your convert record settings include subtable fields to be converted onto fields on the main form and subtable fields in the target sheet, you will create as many new records in the target sheet as the number of records you already have on the subtable in the source, and each new record will have as many subtable records as you have in the source. If you would like to group the records and create a new record for each group while converting, you may apply a subtable grouping criteria in your covert records button.

For example, we have a sheet that records the daily sales of a store, with a subtable recording each successful sale.

We would then want to convert the subtable records to another sheet but wish to only create a new record for each salesman, and the other affiliated data would be populated in the subtable.

To do that, you will first need to map your fields correctly in the convert records setting, and then apply subtable grouping criteria and select the field you want your subtable records to be grouped by. In this case, your subtable records will be grouped by the field “salesman”.

After clicking to convert records, you will then create as many new records on the target sheet as the number of different names you have in the “salesman” subtable field.

With each new record having a subtable that contains the converted data affiliated to the salesman.

You can also select to convert subtable records with an empty value in the grouping field. By selecting it, those subtable entries with an empty value in the grouping field will all be in one group and create one new record on the target sheet.

Situations when you convert records

to a main form entry to subtable entries
from a main form entry ✔ (clicking the button once to create one record)
from subtable entries ✔ (clicking the button once to create N records, N = the number of subtable entries) ✔ (clicking the button once to create one record)

Note: The system will not allow you to convert a main form entry from a sheet to subtable entries in another sheet because a main form entry only has one value in a field, but the subtable entries may have more than one value in a field.

Other configurations for action buttons

Additional Settings

There are some additional settings you can configure for action buttons, you may refer to this article for detailed information.

Remove the action button

If you want to remove the action button, you may refer to this article.

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